Microsoft is soon going to start sending notifications to Windows 8.1 users about the upcoming end of extended support. According to The Verge, the OS is set to reach the end of its support period on January 10th, 2023, and the warning messages will start showing up next month. Here are the details…

Microsoft prepares to forget about Windows 8.1

Microsoft is preparing to send reminders to Windows 8.1 users that support will end on January 10th 2023. The notifications will be similar to ones Microsoft has used in the past to remind Windows 7 users about end of support dates.

The company originally sunset Windows 8 support in 2016, but the 8.1 update will cease support fully in January 2023. With some versions of Windows, like Windows XP or 7, Microsoft actually extended the support period due to the sheer popularity of those operating systems, but that’s not the case with this version.

In fact, Microsoft isn’t giving business customers the option to pay for extended security updates (ESU), as it did for Windows 7. While it was costly, the ESU program allowed some businesses to keep getting security updates for Windows 7 for up to three years after support ended in January 2020.

As of February 2022, StatCounter reports that Windows 8 and 8.1 combine for just 4.42 percent of worldwide Windows users. The older Windows 7, still has almost three times as many users.

While not quite as big a blunder, Windows 11 is drawing comparisons to 8 as users hesitate to upgrade. It’s currently holding just over 10 percent of the userbase… slightly less than Windows 7.